Nod to The Legend · The instruments · 1931

George Beauchamp's Frying Pan

The first electric guitar pickup, with Adolph Rickenbacker

Beauchamp wanted guitars loud enough to be heard over a band. He wound a magnetic pickup and, with Adolph Rickenbacker, built a lap steel guitar nicknamed the Frying Pan for its round body and long neck. It was the first electric guitar to be sold.

Still heard: Every guitar pickup, and every amp sim plugin, starts with his coil of wire.

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